Nothing is What it Appears
by Saiyaness28
Summary: “I demand that you return her to me.” She ordered. He smiled and leaned into her, his face only inches from hers. “You have no power over me.” He whispered, pleasure dripping from every word, “Not anymore.” Will Sarah's daughter escape the labyrinth? R/R
1. Chapter 1

Nothing is What it Appears

**Author's Note: **I had not seen the movie, "Labyrinth" until I bought it almost a year ago on a whim. It wasn't what I thought it would be. It was more. When you first watch it, it seems outdated, and silly, but after a while the characters and the story seem to grow on you. I haven't watched the movie in a really long time, and yet last night I dreamed about it. It was a really strange dream. This story is based on that unusual dream. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did having it. This is actually a sequel to the movie, set some twenty years afterwards in New York City. **Disclaimer: **Jim Henson owns Labyrinth. I do not. I own Katie. That is all.

* * *

Chapter 1: Like Mother, Unlike Daughter

"Shhh, be quiet. We don't want to wake up the _queen_." Katie giggled in a hushed voice. Alex laughed and kissed her, pressing her against the door. Suddenly the door opened and Katie and her boyfriend fell in a heap on the floor. "Mom!" Katie whined, pushing Alex off of her and scrambling to her feet. Sarah glared at her daughter, her arms were crossed over her chest and her foot tapped on the floor with distaste. Much like what her stepmother used to do to her when she forgot to come home on time. However, she had been playing make believe, not doing god knows what with some hooligan boy. "Katherine! Do you have any idea what time it is!" she demanded. Katie rolled her eyes, "It's 12:30 mom. So what?" Sarah could feel her anger getting the best of her. Her entire face was growing hot. "Say goodbye to Alex. You won't be seeing him again." Sarah ordered, shooting a deadly look at the boy with the spiky black hair, leather jacket, and nose ring. "You can't do that!" Katie protested, "Alex, you don't have to go." She said, grabbing onto his arm. "Whatever, I'm out." He shook her off and walked quickly out of the apartment. Sarah shut the door behind him then returned the focus of her fury onto her teenaged daughter. "You are grounded forever, young lady." Katie shook her head, tears fill her eyes. "I can't believe you! I didn't do anything wrong! This isn't fair!" With that, Katie stormed off to her room. "You don't know what unfair means." She sighed to herself, memories of a winding maze and a cunning goblin king filling her vision.

Katie threw herself onto her bed and sobbed into her pillow. Her mom just didn't understand. She had really liked Alex. She didn't care what she or Paul thought about him. Now he'd never speak to her again. "I hate her!" Katie screamed into the pillow. She rolled over and stared up at the cracked and water stained ceiling. "I hate her. I hate Paul. I hate them both. I wish they would just go away. No, I wish _I_ could go away. Go far, far away where no one will ever find me." She closed her eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, Sarah knocked on Katie's bedroom door. "Time to wake up, Katie. Hurry up. Your father wants to talk to you before he leaves for his business trip." " Ugh" Katie groaned. Like a zombie, the girl crawled out of bed, combed her unruly blond hair, brushed her teeth, and got dressed in her favorite pair of rip kneed jeans and black and white striped shirt.

"Good morning." Sarah greeted her daughter as Katie sat down at the kitchen table for a French toast breakfast. "Whatever." Sarah moaned, slouching down in her seat. Looking up over the dinner table, she could see that her step-father, Paul was glaring daggers at her. It really ticked her off when he acted like he was in fact her father. He'd only been in her life for six years. "So what is this I hear about you and that boy staying out until 12:30?" He growled at her. "Don't even start with me, Paul." Katie shot back. "We didn't do anything. He took me for a ride on his motorcycle after the movie and we lost track of time. That's it." "Don't you use that tone with me, Katherine. I know good and well that wasn't what you were doing!" He yelled, his hands clenching into fists on the table. "Katie." she mumbled, looking down at her untouched plate. "What did you say?!" he asked, angrily. "I said, my name is Katie! Not Katherine! Get it right you asshole!" Katie jumped up from table, so quickly, she nearly knocked her chair over. She ran into her room and slammed the door behind her.

"Somebody needs to teach that girl some manners. You've been too soft on her. That's her problem." Sarah got up, took her husband's plate and dumped all of his food in the garbage disposal. "What the hell are you doing?!" yelled Paul. "Don't you dare talk that way to my daughter like that again." She spat. "If you would put your foot down, she wouldn't be like that." Paul pointed out. "She's my daughter and I'll discipline her however I feel fit!" She huffed and went to console her daughter.

"Katie?" Sarah whispered, tiptoeing into her room. "What do you want?" said Katie, her voice muffled by her pillow. "I'm sorry about what Paul said. He was out of line." Katie took her pillow off of her face and sat up on her bed. "I don't know what you see in that jerk." She said. Sarah sat down beside Katie and brushed her shoulder length hair out of her face, "Well, he can be sweet when he wants to be. I know he was harsh, but he loves you very much. We both do. He just…doesn't know how to show it sometimes." Katie rolled her green eyes and shook her head. "You don't care about me. Paul hates me and if you really loved me you would have never married him!" Sarah sighed in exasperation. This matter was impossible to explain to the eighteen year old. Instead of trying, she handed Katie a little red book. "Labyrinth?" said Katie, a look of confusion on her face. "That book helped through some really tough times. Maybe it will help you too." She smiled and stroked her daughter's cheek lovingly. Then she got up and went for the door. "I have to go to the grocery store. I'll be back in a bit. Be good." Katie turned her face away and looked out her window.

Frustrated, Sarah left for the store. If only she could connect with her daughter in some way. They were both so different from each other. Maybe too different. As she drove away, she was completely unaware of the bird perched on a windowsill of an apartment of the building across from theirs. A white and gold owl.

Katie, flipped through the little book, out of shier boredom. When it came to the passage about the goblins taking the child away, she began to laugh. "Goblins! Right! Thanks mom. God, she's such a dork." She tossed the book carelessly onto the floor. She fell back onto the bed, her golden hair splaying out over the pillow in every direction around her head. "I wish goblins would take _me_ away." Katie paused, then added in a strong, meaningful voice, "Right…now."

"As soon as the final words left her lips, a flood of strange little creatures washed over the room, pouring out of every shadow. They cackled in high pitched voices, grinning sharp toothed smiles. She tried to scream, but no sound came out. They grabbed her, gagged her with their monstrous hands and carried her away, back into the shadows from wince they came. Katie had gotten her wish.

Sarah returned to the apartment an hour later. "Katie!" she called, trying to carry several heavy grocery bags at the same time. She sat them down on the kitchen table and called again, "Katie! Katie, can you come help me with the groceries?! Katie!" Oh dear, she must still be angry with her. She went to Katie's door and knocked. No answer. She tried several times, but all was quiet. Something about this silence, sent a chill through her body. It was eerily similar to the eerie stillness she had experienced when she was sixteen. When Toby was taken by the goblins. "Oh no." Sarah gasped as she burst into the room. Everything in the room was untouched, but Katie was gone. "NO!" Sarah screamed falling to her knees. Most people would have rationalized that she was just another runaway teen, but Sarah knew better. This screamed Jereth.

Scrambling back to her feet, she rushed to the mirror above Katie's vanity, and in a demanding voice she called upon the goblin king himself. "Goblin King, Goblin King! Show yourself to me!" Right on cue, in a poof of smoke and sparkles, Jereth, the king of the goblins appeared in all his flashy glory. "You called, Sarah?" He asked in an amused, deep voice. She couldn't believe it worked. She stared at his reflection in the mirror, afraid to turn around. She was amazed at the difference between them. It had been twenty years since they had last faced each other, her brown hair was now streaked with grey, and her face was lined with age, yet he looked exactly the same. "Where is my daughter?! What have you done with her, Jereth?!" She hissed the question. Every ounce of her motherly instinct wanted to rip his throat out. Jereth's thin lips quirked into a smirk, "I simply gave her what she wanted." He said. Slowly, she turned around and glared into his mismatched eyes. "I demand that you return her to me." She ordered. He smiled and leaned into her, his face only inches from hers. "You have no power over me." He whispered, pleasure dripping from every word, "Not anymore." He laughed at the defeated look on Sarah's face as he slowly began to fade away. "Please, please, Jereth! I'll…I'll solve the labyrinth again. I'll win her back from you just like Toby!" He shook his head at her, "No, I've grown bored of you, Sarah. It is now Katherine's turn to face my labyrinth and I believe she will be much more amusing." He finally vanished, his laughter still echoing through the apartment.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: What She Refused

(**Author's Note: **I realized that I had misspelled Jareth's name. I used Jereth instead of Jareth. Woops. Sorry if that annoyed you, fellow Labyrinth fans.)

* * *

The goblin hoard dumped Katie on the hill, overlooking the vast labyrinth, and scurried away. She stood up on shaky legs, holding onto the dead tree beside her for support, and dusted herself off. "What the hell were those things?" She asked herself, her eyes wide with fright.

"Goblins." Said a man's voice. She spun around and came face to face with a strange man with high arched eyebrows, mismatched eyes, and hair that stuck up everywhere on top of his head. "Who are you?" Katie asked, backing away from him. He gave a bow, "My name is Jareth. I'm the king of the Goblins and master of this labyrinth." He said charmingly, waving his gloved hand over the impressive expanse of the labyrinth. Katie glanced over her shoulder at the endless maze below them. "This is freaking impossible." She mumbled beneath her breath. The man danced around to stand at her side. "No, not impossible. It's been solved before. Once. By your mother, Sarah." He said with a little laugh as he said her name. "My mother? You know my mother?" Katie's head whirled. She was so confused. What was going on? Jareth nodded, "When she was a young girl, younger than yourself, she wished away her baby brother,. Because I loved her, I granted her wish. I sent my goblins to take the child. I thought that this would make her happy, but Sarah changed her mind. She wanted the babe back. And so I challenged her. If she could solve the labyrinth, I would return the babe to her and set her free. She won my challenge in the end."

"I must be dreaming." Katie whispered and discreetly pinched herself. Nothing. She was still there. It wasn't a dream. The goblins, the labyrinth and its king were all real. "What am I doing here?" She asked. With a flick of his wrist, three crystal balls magically appeared and he began to roll them across his knuckles. "You wished that the goblins would take you away, didn't you?" "Yea, but I didn't think it would happen." This kind of stuff was just in fairytales wasn't it? "I truly loved your mother. I would have given her the world if she had asked for it, but she refused my gifts and denied my love and my world. Now I have given you the same gifts as I bestowed upon her. I will grant your heart's every wish, all you have to do is surrender yourself to me and deny your life with your mother as she refused a life with me. Are you not happy? Do you wish to return to your mother? For if you do, you will have to solve my labyrinth and if you so choose to stay you can never see your mother again." The goblin king said, tossing his crystals up in the air. Katie thought for a moment. "I…I don't know what I want." She answered, truthfully. She felt like she was being pulled in two very different directions. On one hand, she was finally away from her parents rules, even if it was under weird circumstances, on the other did she really not want to see her mother ever again? Yes, she was angry with her, but did she truly hate her?

Jareth's smile vanished and he stopped toying with his crystals. He had not expected her to give such an answer. He thought she'd immediately challenge him, just like her mother, but this was not the case. Would she actually stay? Was he wrong to hope she would? Just by looking at the girl, he could tell that although she was her daughter, she was not Sarah. She was very different, both in looks and disposition. Perhaps he would succeed with her where he had failed with Sarah. "Katherine, would you like to see my castle?" he asked, extending his hand to her. She hesitated then finally took his hand. Where else did she have to go? With that, the two vanished in a cloud of glitter.

"Hoggle? Ludo? Sir Didymous? Anyone? Please, I need you." Sarah pleaded into the mirror. Nothing happened. Her old friends did not appear. "Damn!" Sarah growled, pounding her fist on the vanity. "Why won't it work anymore? I know it's been decades since I called on them, but they couldn't have forgotten about me. Could they?"

Katie cringed as a mob of disgusting little creatures cackled and cheered around her, tugging at her pant legs and sleeves. "Back off you little cretins." the king growled and they at once scattered. "Thanks." She muttered. "Of course. If they get on your nerves, feel free to step on their toes and kick them in their ugly little faces." He said, nonchalantly, as if it was perfectly okay. "That's a little harsh isn't it?" She said, flicking a tiny goblin off of her shoulder. "No, they actually like it. The number one rule for living with goblins is that everything bad is good and everything good is bad." He said in a musical tone. What was with this place? So confusing.

He led her through hall after hall, down staircases that ran upwards and up staircases that were actually upside down. All the while, Katie's mind was struggling to keep up with the senselessness of this world, where not even the laws of physics applied. Finally, they came to a pair of massive doors with door handles that looked something like dragons in flight. "This will be your room. The queen's chamber." He said and threw open the doors. Katie had to gasp for breath, for the sight that met her eyes took it away instantly. An enormous canopy bed, with spiraling wooden bed posts and rich, soft tapestries of silk and luscious satin. There was a vanity and mirror beside the bed that looked as if it were carved from crystal and there was a huge wardrobe filled to capacity with elegant dresses fit for any member of royalty, goblin or otherwise. It was a far cry from her cramped little bedroom in the apartment.

"T-this is my room?" She stuttered, completely in shock. This room was far different from the rest of the castle, which was completely over run by Jareth's goblin subjects. "You like it?" Asked Jareth, leaning against the doorway and watching the girl practically swoon over the room he had originally had prepared for Sarah. "Like it? I love it! It's gorgeous!" Jareth was so delighted, he could not help but grin to himself.

"I am afraid I have some business to attend to at the moment. I will see you tonight, at dinner, Katherine." Katie stalled and shot a suspicious glare his way. "How do you know my name? I don't remember telling you." Jareth looked back at her through the doorway, his sharp goblin teeth showing in his smile, "I have known your name since the moment Sarah thought of it." He said, bowed, then walked quickly out of the room. Katie rushed to the door to stop him from leaving. She wanted to interrogate him further, but when she looked both ways down the hall, she found that the goblin king was nowhere to be seen.

"Come on! Come on! Hoggle! Somebody! Show yourselves to me!" Sarah screamed into the mirror, beating on it with her fists. Nothing happened of course. Magic has a tendency not to work when you absolutely need it to. Especially in matters of life and death. Sarah slumped in front of the mirror in defeat and sobbed. "Oh, have you been trying to contact your little friends?" snickered Jareth's all too pleasant voice. Sarah practically jumped into the mirror. "What have you done with them, you horrid goblin!" Jareth smirked at her, he was thoroughly enjoying observing the flustered state she was in. "I have done nothing to them, dear Sarah. I told you when I left this evening that you no longer have any power over me. Well, that goes for me, my kingdom, and _everyone_ in it." Sarah's jaw dropped as the magnitude of his words hit her. Still he went on, "I have stripped you of your powers, something I should have done long ago, and have given them to your lovely daughter." Sarah leaned closer to the mirror's glass, "You better not have put her in your god forsaken labyrinth, Jareth, or so help me I'll…"

Jareth chuckled wickedly, "Or you'll what? You can't get into my world and you can't call on your friends to aid you. You're completely helpless. Besides, she isn't in the labyrinth."

"But you said." Sarah began. "I know what I said. I changed my mind. It seems, Katherine was more than happy to bend to my wishes. She's resting in her bedroom as we speak." He said. Sarah's temper boiled over with raw rage, "Don't you dare lay one finger on her!" She screamed at his reflection. "You made your choice long ago, girl!" He screamed back, his usual calm demeanor evaporating like water in the desert. "If you had accepted my proposal twenty years ago, all of this would have been avoided!" He bared his sharp teeth at her, his mismatched eyes glowering viciously, unveiling his much darker side. "You may have beaten my labyrinth, but you did not defeat me. I simply waited and watched as your once strong spirit was crushed beneath the weight of time and tragedy. Now, I will finally get what I long for." "No Jareth! Return Katie and I…I'll take her place. Take me, Jareth! Not my daughter!" The goblin king silently brushed his finger tips across his lips as he thought, then those lips parted slowly to utter the one word that would ensure the demise of Sarah's heart. "No." He vanished. "Jareth! Jareth!" Sarah screamed, but the image did not return.

Jareth sat back in his throne with a heavy sigh. Just six years ago, he would have taken her up on her offer, but after Paul entered the picture, he had begun to notice the little twelve year old daughter of his once greatest love. The girl who longed for a different world, and yet didn't know it. He couldn't give her the world she longed for, one where her father was still alive, but he hoped he could do something to make her happy. At least get her away from her evil step-father. How twisted this web had become. For him to love the mother then fall for the daughter. Twisted indeed. He had not told Sarah, and he didn't dare to, but the reason he had refused to take her instead, was because she wasn't what he wanted anymore. Or rather who.

"Hello, your highness. My butt looks as big as an eighteen wheeler in this dress. Don't you think so?" Katie said in a haughty voice, as she talked to herself in the mirror. She had pulled one of the regal fairytale dresses over her jeans and striped shirt. She was thoroughly enjoying poking fun at herself. "I think it looks quite nice." Said a small voice. Katie was caught completely off guard. She screamed and jumped up in the air. A very small goblin girl, with thin arms and legs, crazy white hair and pig like nose stared up at her. "How did you get in here?!" Katie huffed, her eyes still bugging out of her head. "Through the servant's door." The little girl pointed towards a small door on the far wall. Katie was fairly certain that it wasn't there earlier. Maybe it was and she just didn't notice it. She doubted that theory. So far as she could tell, the more ridiculous it is the more likely it is in this place. "I'm Squee. I was told to get you ready for dinner. You're not going like that are ya?" Said Squee. Katie looked down at herself and suddenly realized how weird she must look. Her cheeks blushed violently, "Oh, uh no, of course not." She stuttered, pulling off the dress. "Oh okay, let's take a look in your wardrobe then." The little goblin girl took her hand and led her over to the wardrobe.

She was only one and a half feet tall and she had a child's soft voice. Katie couldn't help but think how adorable Squee was. She had a strange urge to pick the goblin child up and squeeze her to death. She watched in amazement as the small creature climbed through the sea of dresses and threw a royal blue dress at her. "Put that one on. The king likes blue." Katie did as the goblin said. It was a lovely dress, better than she had thought just by looking at it. It had a high collar and ringed her throat and a heart shaped neckline, the corset was tight fitting but not so tight that she couldn't breath comfortably. The skirt of the dress was large and billowy, it had sparkling flecks of gold and silver throughout. That was right up Jareth's alley. "Do you always get this dressed up for dinner?" asked Katie as she watched Squee weave a blue ribbon though her blond hair. "No, but the king wanted you to look _extra_ pretty." "I see, well I think you succeeded, Squee. This is the best I've ever looked." Squee beamed back at her, as she took a seat on Katie's shoulder. That's kind of sad when your make up and hair was done by a goblin child.

A loud knock on the door made the two jump. "It's the king." Squee whispered in a startled voice. She hopped down and scurried back out the servant's door. "Come in." Katie called. The door opened and Jareth, dressed in a sparkling blue jacket with a high collar, and a ruffled shirt entered the room. His attire made Katie think maybe, this dress of hers was a request and not just a coincidence. "My, how lovely you are." Jareth cooed. He took her hand and kissed it. "Um…thank you…you can stop kissing my hand now." She said, her cheeks reddening. He straitened himself and Katie discretely wiped her hand on her skirt. "Squee did a great job." "That she did. I will have to reward her later." He offered her his arm and she took it.

They walked along the curving, passageways. Walking in her ridiculously big skirts was surprisingly easy. It was almost weightless, which made no sense at all. "I am glad you have decided to stay for a while with me, before making a more permanent decision. It will give me the chance to show you how wonderful your life can be here. " Said Jareth. Katie smiled politely. "Are you enjoying yourself so far?" He asked as they rounded another bend. "Actually, I have a killer migraine right now." She sighed, pinching the place between her eyebrows. "Oh dear. I will have to whip up a tonic for you later."

Sarah sat at the vanity with her head gripped in her hands. Her tears were forming a puddle below her face. What could she do now? Her powers no longer worked, she could not make her friends appear, she couldn't go there herself, she definitely couldn't report this to the police. They'd probably just say she ran away on her own. Her eyes slowly drifted over to a picture that Katie had taped to the mirror. It was of Sarah, holding baby Katie. She was maybe nine months old at the time. At her side was her first husband, David, who was had little Toby on his shoulders. Sarah touched David's happy face with her finger tips. "David," she croaked, "If only you were here. You'd know what to do." David. It still hurt to think about him. There was still a giant whole in her heart, where his love used to be. How badly she needed to hear his voice again. Suddenly, the phone began to ring. Wiping her eyes and clearing her throat, Sarah picked up the phone.

"Sarah? Are you okay? I got this awful feeling." Hearing Toby's concerned voice made Sarah break down again. "No, no! I'm not alright. Jareth is back and he's taken Katie to the Labyrinth!" She cried. "I'll be there in like thirty minutes. Don't worry. We'll get her back." There was a loud click as Toby slammed the phone down.

Katie watched as the goblins, Jareth included, stuffed their faces with strange goblin food. You would think that they hadn't eaten in years the way they were shoving it in. Food was flying everywhere. She couldn't help it. She busted out laughing. All the goblins stopped eating and stared at her like she'd gone bonkers. "What's so funny?" asked Jareth, brushing crumbs out of the ruffles on his front. "You got me all dressed up for dinner and this is the way goblins eat!" She cried through giggle fits. She was laughing so hard, her ribs ached. Catching on to the joke, Jareth began to laugh as well. It never occurred to him that they ate like ravenous wolves. "Does it displease you? I'll order them to learn proper etiquette if you wish." He offered, ignoring the fact that his manners were just as bad. She shook her head, still giggling a little, "Nah, I like it. Table manners are such a drag." She grabbed a chicken-uh-thing leg and bit into it. "I don't know what it is, but it's sure tasty." She said, through a mouthful of food. Jareth stared in shock as he watched the girl devour her meal. Her manners were even worse than the goblins. The goblins were even cheering her on. "Go! Go! Go!" They jeered, as she chugged down a bottle of apple juice. Jareth smiled when she held up the empty juice bottle in victory. He was beginning to like this girl more and more. She was more like a goblin than he was.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Reach for your Dreams and They are Yours

* * *

"What are we going to do, Toby?" Sarah groaned, as she watched her younger brother pace the room.

Toby shook his head, "You said, you can't get Hoggle or any of the others to come?"

Sarah nodded, dabbing her eyes and nose with a tissue. "Yea, Jareth took my powers away. I'm completely cut off from the Underground."

Toby stopped dead in his tracks and his lips pulled up into a grin. "He took _your _powers away, but not mine." He said.

Sarah leapt up from the bed and hugged Toby tightly, "Of course! Of course! You can call my friends here! Once I tell them what Jareth has done, they'll be sure to help us!"

After their meal, Jareth walked with Katie back through the winding halls of his castle. "Where are we going now?" she asked. She had no idea. All the halls looked the same to her.

"To my chamber." He replied, patting her hand reassuringly.

Katie's eyes widened, "Y-your room?" She stuttered. He certainly moved fast. She hadn't even agreed to stay yet.

"You wanted that tonic for your headache didn't you?" Jareth asked, seeing the "deer in the headlights" look on her face.

Katie let out a sigh of relief, "Oh, yea. The tonic."

When they came to the giant doors that led to Jareth's chamber, they swung open on their own. "Magic." Jareth whispered, before Katie could ask if they were automated. The room, much like her own, was beautifully decorated. However, it had a much darker ambiance about it, what with the gargoyles posted at each corner of the room and the enormous bed with the curvy head board and ram's horn decorations.

"Wow," Katie said, "Your room's not as nice as mine."

Jareth's brow twitched with irritation at her remark, "Well, no one has ever slept in your room. I however, have lived in mine for the last thousand years. You should have seen it in its former glory."

"A thousand years?" Katie gasped, "You can't possibly be that old."

Jareth smirked at her, "I'll be a thousand and one in two months." He chuckled at her shocked look. "Power has a strange ability to still the sands of time. For as long as my power holds, I will not grow old. Therefore, my life span is infinite."

Katie walked out onto the veranda, which she hadn't seen when she first entered the room, and gazed down upon the goblin city and the labyrinth that surrounded it. Jareth went out as well and stood beside her, gazing not at the Labyrinth, but at the girl's serene face. "I've never seen anything so beautiful." She whispered, perhaps only to herself, but loud enough that he heard it.

He was taken aback for a moment. No one had ever described the labyrinth as beautiful before. Horrible and impossible, yes, but never beautiful. "You like it here?" He asked, moving closer to her.

"This place is so strange and confusing and the goblins are filthy, vile little creatures, but…I don't know why…but I like it here, and the goblins too. I guess I like weird." She laughed lightly. She sighed and leaned against the railing, "I think I'm going to miss it later." she added.

_Still planning on leaving, is she? I'll fix that. _Jareth thought to himself. He leaned in even closer. His mouth was at her ear. "You don't have to leave, you know. Just stay, marry me, let me rule you, and I and my power will be at your beck and call." He held a crystal before her. It's insides swirled with rainbow colors. "Your dreams, everything you've ever wanted, is here in my hand. Reach for your dreams and they are yours, Katherine."

Katie's eyes glassed over as she stared into the colorful orb. Her hand reached out to take it, but stalled midway there. "If I marry you, will I live as long as you can?" She asked, her green eyes starting to clear.

Jareth leaned in still further, so that he lips almost touched the soft flesh of her ear. "Marry me and I will not only give you immortality, but the world, I'll move the stars for you, Katherine. Anything you want, is yours. All I ask for in return is that you fear, love, and obey me. That is not too much to ask for is it, for all that I will give you."

Her hand began to reach for the orb again. She could almost make out the image of an eternally youthful version of herself, dressed in the most beautiful gown one could imagine, a star clutched in her hand, a Katherine with unthinkable power. The lust she had for that life was intoxicating. Her head swirled with possibilities. All she had to do was marry him and she would have it all. Then just as her fingertips were about to graze the orb's glassy surface, and Jareth could practically taste his factory on his tongue, his last words to her echoed through her mind. _Anything you want, is yours. All I ask for in return is that you fear, love, and obey me. _She stopped. In a burst, her will came shining through and fought back the cloud of lust that his sweet words had made to creep inside her mind. Her hand dropped to hang by her side. "No." She whispered, shaking away the gloom.

"What? What else could I possibly give you?" asked the goblin king, infuriated that she would reject his gifts.

She looked up at him with clear eyes, "I don't think fear and obedience has anything to do with love, Jareth. Like your world it makes no sense. If someone has to fear and obey you in order to love you, then they don't really love you at all."

Her words fell like daggers in his heart. He stumbled backwards on unsteady legs. She rushed to him and grabbed his arm, in order to steady him. " I don't mean to hurt you, Jareth. I am thankful for everything you've done for me, and the gifts are flattering. However, if I choose to marry you, I want it to be because I love you, not for the things you can give me, and it's much too soon for any of that. I mean for heaven's sake, I just met you a few hours ago."

"So you're still going to stay?" He asked, wearily.

"For a while, until I make up my mind on whether or not I want to stay." She replied, helping him over to a chair.

"Good." He sighed, "I thought I had scared you off. That you'd rather face the labyrinth than stay here."

Katie smirked, "Promise me that you won't try anymore mind games and we're good."

He nodded, "Very well, you have a deal." He said. She smiled and pat his shoulder.

Toby and Sarah stood together at the mirror, their hands linked securely. "My friends, Hoggle, Ludo, and Sir Didymous, I need you!" Sarah called out.

Toby concentrated on her request. Toby always had this strange ability to make anything he wanted to happen, happen. Sarah had told him about their adventures in the Labyrinth long ago and they marked his power up to the human to goblin changing process that had already begun, before he was rescued, but was never completed. He usually used it for selfish reasons, like a new bike, or getting into his dream college, or convincing the hottest girl in school to go to the prom with him his senior year. This was the first time he'd ever used it to help someone other than himself. It made him feel really good inside. "Hoggle, Ludo, Sir Didymous, my sister needs you. Come now!" Rays of light beamed from the mirror and a strange wind began to blow from nowhere. Their hair and clothing waved about in the strong gust of wind. Hoggle and the others came flying out of the mirror and landed in a tangled heap on the floor.

"Are you guys alright?" asked Sarah as she helped Ludo off of Sir Didymous and Hoggle.

"Sawah?" asked Ludo, looking her over carefully and sniffing at her hair.

"Hi, Ludo. I missed you too."

"Hi Sarah." Greeted Hoggle with a bright smile.

Sir Didymous bowed before her. "My Lady."

"Sarah, you look, uh, different." Said Hoggle, wringing his fingers.

The other two tilted there heads, "Yes, I see it now. She does look a tad different." said Didymous.

Sarah brushed a stray hair away from her forehead, "Yes well, I've gotten older now, twenty years have gone by in my world."

Toby stepped foreword and extended his hand to Hoggle, "Sorry about the, um, less than graceful entry. I'm not too good at the magic thing." He said with a chuckle.

"Who be this lad, Lady Sarah?" asked Sir Didymous.

"Oh, this is Toby. You know, my brother. The one I was trying to rescue."

They all made "ah ha!" noises and patted the young man on the back.

The introductions finished, Sarah pulled her old friends aside. "I am sorry for not calling on you for so long, but I really need your help now." She said, her face stern.

"What's wrong, Sarah?" Asked Hoggle.

"Sawah sad." Ludo moaned.

"Why beith thou so blue?" Asked Sir Didymous.

Sarah's eyes narrowed, "Jareth stole my daughter." She said in an angry voice.

Her friends gasped.

"Damn that Jareth." Hoggle cursed.

"And he's taken away my powers so I couldn't call you guys here or get to the labyrinth. If Toby didn't still have his powers, I don't know what I would have done." She added, her hand shot up to her mouth to stifle a sob.

"No worries, my lady, we shall rescue your fair maiden and bring her home!" Bellowed Sir Didymous.

"Yea." replied Hoggle and Ludo.

Sarah grabbed Hoggle's hand, "No, I don't want you to do that."

"Huh? Why not? You want her back, don't ya?" asked, Hoggle.

"Of course I do, but I can't risk Jareth finding out that I've spoken to you guys. If he realizes that Toby has powers, he may take them away from him too. Besides, he told me that Katie has chosen to stay there." she said.

"And you believed that lying rat?" Hoggle shot at her.

"I…I don't doubt it. Katie and I had a fight. She was really mad at me. Look, don't do anything rash. I just want you guys to check on her, make sure that she's really there on her own accord and that she's okay. That's all I'm asking. Can you do that?"

"Sure." sighed Hoggle.

"Of course. It would be my pleasure." said Sir Didymous, charmingly.

Ludo nodded his big head.

"Thank you." Sarah said with a smile. She knew she could count on her friends.

Once Jareth had recuperated from her backlash of inner strength, He stood shakily from his seat. "Let me get your elixir." He said smoothly, walking calmly over to the pantry where he kept all his potions. Yes, he has a potion pantry, what suitable goblin king wouldn't?

He took a blue healing potion then checked to see if she was looking his way. He watched her as she stood and walked around the room, looking at all the strange decorations that adorned everything. With a wave of his hand, a dark purple vile , flew into his other hand. _Her will will account for nothing, with this little brew._ _She cannot miss something she cannot remember._ He thought, pleasantly, to himself. He uncorked the vials and poured three drops of the purple liquid into the blue healing potion. He shook the mixed concoction and the potion turned black. He held the vile before him, gazing into its inky blackness. _One sip and all she will know is me, just one taste and she will be mine forever. _His eyes shifted over to where the girl stood on the terrace, gazing out at the labyrinth, her eyes misty with untold dreams. He took the horrible concoction and poured it out of a window. He couldn't do it. He could not cast his spell of forgetfulness. Not on her. He didn't understand why, he just couldn't. What in the world was happening to him? He hadn't hesitated twenty years ago when he had Hoggle feed a poisoned peach to Sarah. He quickly made another healing potion and dripped a white liquid into the blue, turning it red.

"Here we are." He said, taking the elixir to her.

She looked at the vile and sniffed at the opening. She pinched her nose and made a face of disgust, "What is that? It smells like sweaty feet." She coughed.

"Just drink it. You'll feel much better."

She gulped down the liquid. At once her head began to swirl and her legs went weak. "W-what is this?" Sarah slurred.

Jareth caught her in her arms as she fainted. He carried her over to his bed and covered her with a blanket. He brushed her hair away from her face and kissed her cheek, "Sweet dreams." He whispered. It was not a forgetfulness spell that he had cast on her, but one of remembrance. She would have pleasant dreams tonight, ones filled with the one person she missed most. It was the least he could do for the girl who's memories he had almost stolen.

"Okay, Sarah, I've got the portal open again. Say goodbye." Said Toby, holding his hands out towards the mirror, to strengthen his magic.

"Good bye, everyone and thank you." She said, hugging them all.

"Bye Bye, Sawah." Ludo waved and stepped through the mirror portal.

"Farewell," said Sir Didymous and stepped through as well.

"Hoggle." Sarah said, as Hoggle was about to enter the portal.

"Yea?" he asked.

"If you should find her, tell her…tell her that I love her very much and that I'm sorry. Tell her that I miss her." She said, her eyes starting to tear up again.

"Will do, Sarah." Said Hoggle. Then he wobbled through the portal.

Toby dropped his arms with an exhausted sigh. "I hope they can find her." He huffed.

"Me too. They're our only hope." Sarah whispered, looking sadly at the discarded little red book on the floor.

_Where am I?_ Katie thought, looking around. She was no longer in Jareth's castle, but on a beach. The white sand shifted beneath her feet and the crashing of the waves reverberated in her ears. It was all so familiar. As she looked around, her eyes fell on a little family who was enjoying the beach. There was a dark haired mom, a blond dad, and blond little girl in a Mickey Mouse bathing suit. She moved closer to them. Something about their faces, drew her attention. The man looked up and smiled at his daughter, who was carrying a big bucket of sea water for the moat they were making for their sand castle. His face! It couldn't be! "Dad?" She gasped. She began to run. She ran up to them, and threw her arms around the man's neck, but her arms passed right through, as if he wasn't there at all. She staggered over them and looked back. They were going about their business. Could they not see her? As she looked at them, she remembered this day. These people were her family. That child was her at the age of five. The woman was her mom. The man was…her dad. How could this be? He'd been dead for ten years. How? She felt tears spill over her cheeks. However this happened. She was glad it did. She sat down in the sand and watched her old memory play out before her crying eyes.


End file.
